Why Trump Might Be Scaring Off Older Voters

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

“Most of the activities you normally have here in adult Disney World are closed down,” Bryan Casey told me recently by phone from The Villages, Florida, one of the country’s largest retirement communities. COVID-19 has dulled the normally vibrant social lives of Villages residents, who typically spend their days on eternal summer vacation. The town squares that anchor the sprawling development, usually filled with drinking and dancing and music, have been shut down. “Open The Squares? Look At What Is Happening At The Colleges,” read the headline on a recent letter to the editor at Villages News.

In Sumter County, where The Villages is situated, Donald Trump won 68.3 percent of the vote in 2016, and no other county in Florida had a higher turnout. But, Casey — the communications director of the Villages Democratic Club — said, “I have a couple of friends I know who voted for Trump in 2016 who say that they won’t do that this time.” But few would be willing to admit that publicly. “You’ve got to live here to understand that,” he said.

If that’s the case, Casey’s friends wouldn’t be alone. The pandemic has killed some 190,000 Americans, and 8 in 10 of the deaths reported have been among those 65 or over. President Trump’s delayed and fractured response to the outbreak appears to have reshaped the political dynamics for older Americans. Four years ago, he won voters 65 or over by a margin of 13.3 percentage points. But looking at an average of the nine most recent national polls, voters age 65 or over1 favored Biden to Trump by 49.5 percent to 45.7 percent.

Who are the older voters abandoning Trump? A look at the polls from 2016 to 2020 shows movement mostly among white voters. But why are they increasingly abandoning him? There’s the pandemic, of course, but I’m not sure that explains everything. An average of six national polls from May — before the beginning of widespread protests against police violence that would come to dominate the news over the summer — showed Trump and Biden tied among voters 65 or over. Perhaps this other national crisis is driving away older Americans. Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about race and crime could be alienating them as well.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-trump-might-be-scaring-off-older-voters/

[Thekaspervote]

1. Seniors are savvy. They see where the payroll tax cuts are headed.

Imagine having only SS to live on as many seniors do and having someone take it away

[Mariana]

3. If they were savvy, they wouldn't have voted for him in the first place.

Yes, I know all of them didn't vote for him, but most of them did.

[spooky3]

5. The unsavvy ones are feeling the impact of his incompetence

personally so finally they are starting to see him for what he is.

The least savvy still haven’t wised up.

[Mariana]

2. I have to say, The Villages has done a damn good job of controlling the Covid-19.

I was very worried early on, when pictures and vids were coming out of residents completely ignoring all of the recommendations, but the management of the place really cracked down and it has worked very well. I know many of them are angry that their activities have been curtailed for so long. It remains to be seen how many will direct any of that anger where it belongs - at Trump.

[Blue_true]

4. Trump also wants to effectively end their comfortable way of life by

destroying Social Security and Medicare. Though many people in the Villages have investment income, losing all of SS and Medicare would force many to move out into less upscale living.

[spooky3]

6. Agree. Nt